Why do the avatars get messed up? I have made a pixeled, clean avatar. I have saved it as a png file but when it is uploaded to the server the server turns it in to a ugly jpeg? Why? my file is 100x100 pixels and less then 4k.

They probably convert it either because they want the avatars viewable on more browsers (why would the even care...??) or becuause the new forum back-end that was ported over just included it.

Either way, I agree that PNGs (or whatever filetype you upload) should not be converted. Some pictures compress better with different algorithms, and it shouldn't matter what format it's in (so long as it IS a picture file =D). But upgrading from a forum with NO avatars, even converted ones are an improvement.

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> They probably convert it either because they want the avatars viewable on more
> browsers (why would the even care...??) or becuause the new forum back-end
> that was ported over just included it.

First of all the forum improvements have not been ported over, they have been written from scratch.

Secondly JPEG was decided on (as Puffy rightfully states) because PNG isn't supported by older Internet Explorer browsers and a few others. The reason why even 100x100 images are converted is due to security. If (somehow) there is a virus in the image (I know it sounds crazy, but it has happened) then the conversion will kill that virus by rewriting the headers with valid ones etc.
So I'm sorry that you will have to "pay" for this by being forced to have your image end up in recompressed JPEG (it's not that bad is it? The avatar looks ok to me?).